


Devoted and Divine

by Thejoysofcreativity



Category: Doom Patrol (TV)
Genre: Other, Post-Canon, This is inspired by someone else, so go read that first
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:42:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29849988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thejoysofcreativity/pseuds/Thejoysofcreativity
Summary: This is a sequel to @icemachine 's "Divide but not devout" because I couldn't get it out of my brain.--After Larry discovers that Keeg's imaginary friend is a kind version of him, how can they ever deal with the fallout?
Relationships: Keeg Bovo & Larry Trainor, Keeg Bovo/Larry Trainor
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Devoted and Divine

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [divide but not devout](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25818379) by [icedmachinery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icedmachinery/pseuds/icedmachinery), [icemachine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemachine/pseuds/icemachine). 



When they are freed from the wax that held them hostage, Keeg tries to keep themselves together until they have defeated their enemy. Once the day is saved and Dorothy returned back to her father (though truly, Keeg thinks she should be anywhere but with him), they hear Larry take a deep breath and dread fills them.

“Are we… going to talk about that back there? I mean- I know you can’t _talk_ but-'' Larry sighs, placing a hand to his chest. “I’m sorry. If I’d known…” he trails off, unable to finish the sentence. But Keeg feels the regret in him, the self-loathing.

They try to respond with reassurance, to tell him how much he means to them. They flood him with all the warmth and endless devotion that they have felt for _so long._

 _So long,_ it seems, that one day it may drown them. If they had lungs, they would ache, if they had a heart, it would tear in two.

Larry sinks onto the bed, hand pressing tighter against his chest. Keeg manifests against it, trying with all their might to calm him, to console him.

Larry looks down at the light under his hand and Keeg feels his grief. “I didn’t know. How could I have?” Larry groans in frustration, and Keeg knows exactly how he feels. “I’m sorry,” he mutters again. “I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself.”

This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Keeg had planned to keep their longing secret for all their days, but now it is dragged out into the open, exposed, and their terrible truth is out. This _terrifying_ vulnerability is revealed and now Keeg must live with the consequences of their quiet aching want.

“I don’t even know your _name,”_ Larry laments.

 _I know you,_ Keeg thinks. _I have known you for every minute of every day for decades. I know your anger and your fear. I know your kindness and your selflessness. And that is enough. I_ made _it enough._

Larry must at least feel the sentiment of this, because he wraps his arm around himself tight, as if trying to hold both of them. Keeg pulses alongside his heart, trying to hold him too.

“All you ever wanted was to be my friend. I yelled at you, I _hated_ you and all you wanted was for me to _care_ about you.” Larry’s voice cracks. “I said so many awful things. How could you ever forgive me?”

_Because all I ever wanted is for you to love yourself._

Larry shudders. “You just wanted me to be happy,” he says in a very small voice. “You just wanted to be my friend. And instead you conjured up _that_ because I wouldn’t give it to you.”

Nothing the false Larry said was untrue, but that never meant that they ever wanted Larry to know these things. They never wanted to hurt him with their pain.

“I’m sorry you were on your own for so long. I’m sorry that you had to imagine a version of me that cared.” Larry stands up, looks in the mirror and takes off his bandages. 

He looks himself in the eyes and Keeg flashes bright blue behind them. “I’ve been trying to be better, and I’ll keep trying harder,” he promises, and Keeg feels the conviction in his words.

Words flash in Keeg’s mind, words that had given them forbidden hope.

 _“There_ is _a relationship I want to tell you about… It’s not a traditional relationship, per se, but... there’s something inside me. I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but there’s definitely a connection there. And for years I didn’t know what it was, or what it wanted, but now I think I might.”_

And Keeg had thrived on those words, just like they had thrived on their growing closeness during the days they lived with just Rita, and had gone out to the lake and _flown._

It was not a lie when they told Niles Caulder that living inside Larry was torture. It just wasn’t how the old man thought.

Because Keeg has _always_ loved Larry Trainor, and they are beginning to hope he may love them too.

They flood him with love, trying to show him they forgive him, they have _always_ forgiven him.

Larry turns away from the mirror, once again placing his hand over his heart. “After all this time, how could you possibly-”

At this, Keeg flies out of Larry, keeping the edges of them connected at the feet, one hand intertwined with his, because they could never even _fathom_ a life without loving Larry Trainor. Loving Larry Trainor is their life, is their purpose, is every part of their being.

 _Because I have always loved you,_ they think, cradling his face gently. _How could I not?_

Larry must be getting better at figuring out what Keeg is trying to say, because he leans into their hand and smiles softly.

He has never let them touch him before, or hold him or do any of the things the false Larry in their mind would do. 

They expect him to turn away, to reject them, but he stays there, smiling, and places his hand over theirs.

Their shock must be obvious, because he laughs lightly and says, “it’s okay,”

They had expected Larry to be nearly unconscious at this point, but the connection at their feet seems to be keeping him upright. They’re glad, though they find it ironic that they are also so terrified.

After so long being despised by Larry, it’s hard to believe that he would ever care about them, would ever hold them like his own twisted version of Larry would.

But he does.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I’m sorry that you had to _imagine_ a version of me that loved you. That version of me is _real,_ it’s right here in front of you,” Larry promises. “You don’t have to imagine anymore.”

They press their forehead to Larry’s and they stand together, the two of them, whole.

Eventually, Larry starts swaying where he stands, eyes flickering, and he sighs. “Five minutes is the longest yet, but you have to get back in there now.” Larry presses his hand to the edge of Keeg’s face. They feel his regret. “Sorry Keeg.”

He must also feel their anxiety because he gives them a quick reassuring smile, still swaying. “Don’t worry. We’ll work on it so you can stay out longer and longer. We’ll hold each other again soon, okay?”

Keeg nods just once and they become one once more.

Larry lies back down on the bed, placing his hand back over his heart and smiling. Keeg flickers in his chest and they are overwhelmed with his love.  
  
  
  



End file.
